POPULARITY OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
By M. E. Cornell
No set of religious principles have been more universally regarded as applicable to all men than the ten commandments. Both religious and political bodies have endorsed the Decalogue as the basis of all religion and morality. They have been taught in the Sunday-schools, Bible-classes, Catechisms, and pulpits of all Protestant churches from the days of Luther to the present time, under the title of the Moral Law of God. I have in my possession two catechisms, one Methodist, the other Baptist, each of them containing two verbatim copies of the Decalogue, both of them calling it the Moral Law. The fact that these bodies have published this law twice over, in small catechisms of 32 and 36 pages, shows clearly enough that they regarded it as very important. The following in regard to the ten commandments in school, I clip from the Owasso American: "There is certainly nothing sectarian in either the Lord's prayer or the ten commandments; nothing that the most devoted Catholic could reasonably object to; and no other than good results could spring from an endeavor to impress those holy ordinances and the principles and doctrines they teach upon the hearts and minds of our children. While we should deprecate and condemn any attempt to introduce sectarianism into public schools, or in any way interfere with the religious faith of any person or class; yet, regarding the ten commandments as the common platform of all the churches, and the common basis of all morality, we do not see the propriety of banishing them from the school-room." Evidence similar to the above, showing the popularity of this law, might be extended almost without limit, and yet this law is destined to become most unpopular. Indeed it is already becoming so in certain quarters, where the just claims of the fourth command have been urged upon the people; because they can find no way to evade an unpopular conclusion from popular premises, they reject the law as "Jewish." The union that has existed upon the perpetuity of the Decalogue is now breaking up, and another is being formed against it. They have united against the prophecies, and why should they not against the law? They have rejected the doctrine of Christ's soon coming, and will of course reject the law. The Saviour said the law or the prophets should not fail, but the churches say they have failed and will fail. A Methodist minister a short time since took for his text, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable," &c., and then before he closed advised the people to "let Daniel and the prophets alone and seek the salvation of their souls"—as much as to say, Daniel and the prophets are not profitable, thus contradicting his own text. In the winter of 1858 sister A— presented a Methodist minister the following books, which he received very politely, and promised to read: namely, "Signs of the Times," "The Law of God," "A Word for the Sabbath," "The First Day of the Week Not the Sabbath," and "The Atonement." After having the books in his possession about six months, he returned them with the following note: "Mrs. A— Those books you presented me last winter, I return by Mr. D—. Am thankful for the privilege of keeping them so long, and would like to keep them, and all that kind of literature, while I live. For I am quite sure that the moral atmosphere would then be quite safe from their poison. The pages of your books have not seen the light since they came into my hands, so that I am sure my children have not injured them, nor they my children.
"J. H. CASTOR." In the above we have a specimen of how ministers can reject the light of present truth, and also break a solemn promise, and judge of a matter before hearing it, which Solomon says is a folly and a shame unto him. But we need not marvel, for Paul says there will be in the last days "truce-breakers." But O what a shame for any man to write such a note to a christian lady of good reputation! How unbecoming a gentleman, much more a christian minister! But Babylon is fallen, and comment is unnecessary. In the days of Christ and the apostles the law was popular, but to confess Christ was to be cast out of the synagogue. But Constantine the great, reversed the order by lowering the dignity of the law, and making it popular to acknowledge Christ. This movement was the step-stone to the Papal church. The Catholic could devoutly confess Christ, and at the same time persecute his true followers. So now the churches of the day will acknowledge the obligation of the law, and yet persecute the real observers of it; and sooner than acknowledge that the Advent people have any light and truth, they will have the law changed, or deny it altogether. The same spirit of changing and lowering down the dignity of God's law is manifest everywhere in fallen Babylon. But knowledge has increased, and the world and churches are being tested and left without excuse. The standard must be raised. The testimony of our Lord that "except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven," must be heralded throughout the land. The scribes and Pharisees violated the fifth commandment, and taught men so, while the professors of this day are doing the same thing with the fourth. But "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least," &c., reveals the doom of the religious bodies of the day. "Come out of her, my people."